Kingdom : Birds, Bustard

Large, with long narrow neck and rather elongated body and long tail. In flight, wings long and evenly broad white primary patches evident. White and black crest in adults. Also black tufted feathers on side of neck with white central band.(lacking in juveniles) Breast uniformly grey, upperparts blotched and barred brown. Male elongates black and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Similar to Steppe Buzzard but tail longer and narrower with rounded corners. Head and neck narrower, protruding in cuckoo-like manner. Wing beats moe flexible.Soars on flatish, and glides on slightly lowered wings. Male has greyish head and upperparts, female browner. Below, colour varies between birds from blackish brown to almost white. Most are barred with […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Size of Black Kite with long wings and tail, kinked wing position when gliding and flexible wing-beats; soars on highly raised wings. Wide plumage variation: creamy white, rufous-brown and blackish forms on account of colour on body and underwing-coverts. The blackish form can show coarse dark bars on flight- and tail-feathers. Many Long-legged (except dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

The main race that occurs in the region is the highly migratory Steppe Buzzard, B. b. vulpinus, which is slightly smaller with narrower, more pointed wings and longer tail compared with Western European birds of the race B. b. buteo, which are rare.Three types occur: fox-red, grey-brown and blackish (scarce); intermediates are frequent. Fox-red and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Coursers and Whimbrels

Adapted to desert habitat, well camouflaged; runs quickly with plover-like behaviour and sudden stops, prefers running away rather than flying. Mainly sandy buff with distinctive black and white head markings joining in ‘V’ on nape, bill short and down-curved. When standing has an erect posture with long pale legs. Flight rapid with long, slightly rounded […]

Kingdom : Birds, Crane

Big and majestic when walking slowly on ground. Huge in flight; shape resembles White Stork (though slightly bigger and shorter-billed), but grey plumage contrasting with black flight-feathers, black head and upper neck, and white stripe from eye down along neck, are obvious features. Red band above eye visible only at closer range. Looks ‘bushy’ at […]

Kingdom : Beetles, Darkling beetles, Insects

Insect follows Tenebrionidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is between 24-27 mm, and has black colour.

Kingdom : Beetles, Darkling beetles, Insects

Insect follows Tenebrionidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is between 23-27 mm, and has black colour. It lives in desert.

Kingdom : Beetles, Ground beetles, Insects

Beetle follows Carabidae family, and Coleoptera order. It is big-sized (between 35-40 mm) black beetle, with white spots. It is a predator for other kinds of insects, and moves fast.

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

Two phases. Size of Buzzard, but outline and wing-position close to Black Kite; tail square-cut. More ample deep-fingered wings than Buzzard. Pale phase identified by creamy white underparts with contrasting blackish flight-feathers, kite-like band on innerwing above, pale scapulars and upper-tail-coverts and diagnostic small white spot at base of neck, seen on front-view. Dark phase […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

In adult, plumage is blackish-brown with contrasting yellow-white hindneck, pale uppertail with broad black band, white ‘shoulder-braces’ (hard to see), pale ventral region, darkish primaries above, parallel-edged wings held flattish and, often, closed narrow tail when soaring. Juvenile has dark-streaked breast forming pectoral band which contrasts with unstreaked yellow-buff rear-body, and distinct pale wedge on […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

A difficult species. Adult dark brown below, flight-feathers similarly dark or a shade paler; leading underwing-coverts sometimes blackish brown on upper surface, mid to dark brown coverts sometimes contrast with darker mantle; no conspicuous pale primary-patch above. Juvenile is blackish brown below with paler flight-feathers; blackish brown upperwing has 1–3 white covert-bars, often creating pale […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

Large long-winged Eagle with very pale underparts, square-cut tail with three evenly spaced dark bands and a broad head. Whitish underparts variably spotted and barred, some nearly all whitish, others with contrasting dark head and upper breast. Staring bright yellow eyes and broad head, flattened on top give it a rather owl-like appearance. Flies with […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

Dark brown adult has variably coloured underwing-coverts, either similar to body or paler; underwing uniform, or with paler or darker flight-feathers with well spaced broad dark bars and clear-cut band on trailing edge (pattern sometimes diffuse); large dark carpal-patch typical, except in darkest birds. From above, coverts often palest part of wing; usually large, dark-barred, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Male has a dark crown, mantle and leading edge to wing with white underwing-coverts. Female white below except for warm buff thighs and streaked breast, boldly barred flanks and lightly spotted underwing-coverts; dark crown and short moustache contrast with white cheeks. Crown is dark grey.

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Resembles Peregrine in outline and flight but slightly narrower based wings (male) give impression of longer tail. Adult separated from Peregrine by rufous nape and rear eyebrow, narrower moustache and larger pale cheek-patch, almost reaching eye; more creamy, less barred underparts,and often with dark ‘comma’ on greater primary coverts; upperparts paler blue-grey, more often with […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Size of Peregrine but resembles Saker in plumage and shape; long wings with ample hand, slightly blunt-ended when soaring; tail relatively long. Adult separated from most Sakers by barred, greyish upperparts, including distinctly barred uppertail, more contrasting head-pattern of black upper-forehead band, clear-cut narrow black eye-stripe, always conspicuous moustache and with crown unstreaked creamy buff, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Large, stocky falcon with relatively short tail and broad-based, sharply tapering wings which, when soaring, are more pointed than in other large falcons (except Barbary). Adult separated from Lanner and Saker by black crown and bold moustache, contrasting strongly with white throat and small cheek-patch, darker upperparts, barred underparts, but gleaming white upperbreast, and plain […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Largest falcon of the region with wing-span of female Buzzard. Like Lanner in outline, but larger, and heavier-chested. Separated from Lanner by combination of whitish crown (sometimes confined to nape), unbarred Kestrel-like contrast above, less distinctly barred uppertail, poorly developed moustache and less contrasting head pattern (diffuse dark eye-stripe, no dark forehead-band); whitish supercilium often […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Size and shape similar to Hobby . Long-winged, but tail slightly shorter; elongated central tail feathers (sometimes seen in Hobby) but closed tail-tip pointed. Adult has slaty blue-grey upperparts with darker primaries and outer uppertail, blue-grey underparts (underwings appear paler). Female darker, less contrasting above. Young Sooty told from similar Hobby by greyer upperparts with […]

Kingdom : Birds, Finches and Sparrows

Pale greyish buff finch with striking wing pattern and short black bill. Flight feathers mostly black with white edges and pink panel on coverts and base of secondaries. Male has black lores and bill base. Female drabber with less pink, black and white in wing, and lacks black face-patch. Juvenile has straw coloured, dark tipped […]

Kingdom : Birds, Finches and Sparrows

Small, rather inconspicuous, ground dwelling finch with a large head, stout bill and rather short tail. Male distinctive with grey head pinkish wash on forehead, underparts and rump, and wings. Bill an orange-red. Non-breeding female and juvenile sandy grey-buff with slightly paler rump, blackish grey wings and tail with paler feather edgings and pale yellowish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Francolin

A rather drab, stub-tailed greyish brown gamebird with fine mottling and barring on upper and underparts with chestnut forehead and cheeks; has pale throat-patch bordered below by black ‘U’. In flight, shows chestnut tail. Hard to flush, but if pressed rises with explosive whirr of wings. Normally runs off very swiftly.

Kingdom : Birds, Harrier

Smaller, slimmer and slightly narrower-winged than Marsh, with similar flight, but male more buoyant. Male has clear-cut white uppertail-coverts, uniform pale blue-grey upperparts, head and upper breast, rest of under surface white but wing-tip black (both surfaces). 2nd autumn male can show black wedge on wing-rip like male Pallid (as result of primary-moult). Female and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Harrier

Slender build, narrower, longer more pointed wings, longer narrower tail and more buoyant flight helps separation from Hen Harrier. In adult, rear-body slimmer than in Pallid. Male has dark grey back and innerwing, silvery grey outerwing but extensive black wing-tips; one black band on secondaries above and two below; red-brown streaks below dark grey upperbreast. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Harrier

Flight and proportions almost identical to Montagu’s. Male pale grey above without clear-cut white rump; whitish head and undersurface with black wedge on wing-tip. Female separated from similar Montagu’s by pale, dark-streaked collar (like female Hen Harrier; virtually absent in Montagu’s), less spacing between dark bands on secondaries below, with pale bands becoming darker towards […]

Kingdom : Birds, Harrier

Larger, heavier and more broad-winged than other harriers; wavering low glides on raised wings when hunting; otherwise wings with bend at carpals. Male tri-coloured on upperwing (silver-grey, brown and black); uppertail silver-grey; under surface white but wing-tip black and rear-body red-brown, latter separating it from high-flying male Hen Harrier. Female dark brown, tail rusty-brown, crown, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Has long, scythe-like, pointed wings (recalling a large swift) and relatively short tail. In adult, combination of dark slate-grey upperparts, uniform tail, contrast between prominent moustache and white cheeks/throat, densely streaked underparts with red thighs and undertail-coverts, and shape and length of wings and tail separate it from Merlin and Kestrel. Juvenile browner above with […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Large, slender lark, easily identified by its long decurved bill, rather long pale legs, long tail and, in flight, bold black and white bands through wings. Upperparts unstreaked sandy grey-buff, underparts whitish, often spotted black on breast; whitish supercilium, dark eye and malar-stripe. Juvenile spotted on mantle but almost without breast-spots; bill less decurved. Speedy […]

Kingdom : Beetles, Insects, Jewel beetles

Beetle follows Buprestidae family, and Coleoptera order. The beetle is big-sized (between 29-31 mm), has a glossy green colour with glossy yellow spots. It feeds on wild tree flower’s nectar from Aril to June. Larva has a flattened head and lives as diggers inside wild trees.

Kingdom : Birds, Kestrel

Long, narrow, fairly pointed wings, long rounded or tapering tail, shallow loose wing-beats, persistent hovering and rufous upperparts, contrasting with darker flight-feathers, characteristic. Compared to Lesser, male has black spots on back and wing-coverts (absent in male Lesser), lacks blue-grey greater upper-wing-coverts, has different head-pattern and underwing. Female has dark bars on red-brown upperparts; some […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kestrel

Very similar to Kestrel and not always separable. Slightly smaller and slimmer, with slightly narrower wings, slightly shorter, more wedge-shaped tail and quicker wing-beats. Male is unmarked rufous above but greater coverts often blue-grey (hard to see). Whole head ash-grey without moustache or pale area on cheeks. From below, white underwing contrasts with dark wing-tip […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kite

Smaller than the Black Kite, but adult birds have white lines on the outer primary feathers which are noticeable in flight. Crown colour is brown while in Black Kite is greyish. Eyes are black and attractive. Habitat is similar to that of Black Kite which is mostly woodland, near water sources, and can be located […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kite

Size of a large Kestrel, but appears larger in flight. Easily identified by combination of black primaries on white under surface and large black patch on forewing, in otherwise pale grey upper surface with a whitish tail. Juvenile darker and dirtier above with thin white line on greater coverts. Well protruding, broad head, shortish tail […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kite

A buzzard sized bird with a characteristically shallow fork to the tail. Uniformly dark brown with a pale patch sometimes visible on the underwings in immature birds. Juvenile has dark eye-mask, pale feather tips on mantle and shoulders, boldly dark spotted breast but pale belly with no contrast to undertail. Dark band present near tip […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Resembles Desert Lark in general appearance but smaller, with more upright stance, rounder head and with orange-yellow bill shorter and finer, also told from Desert by clear-cut black band to tip of reddish brown tail, best seen when tail spread in flight (in Desert, dark brown tail gradually merges into paler brown base) and by […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

A large heavy-billed lark with a short tail and longish wings. Has a contrasting head pattern with large yellowish bill, black patches on lower throat, and a white superciium. In flight has dull grey-brown underwing with no white trailing edge; has white-tipped tail while outer feathers are buff-brown.

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Rather stocky, pot-bellied, short-tailed lark; long spiky crest always visible; bill fairly long, slightly curved. Upperparts buffish grey or rusty, rather uniform, diffusely streaked darker on hindneck/upper mantle; breast more heavily streaked. Flight with flapping wing-beats on broad wings showing rusty buff underwings and blackish brown short tail with cinnamon sides. Juvenile heavily pale-spotted above. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Dumpy, short-tailed lark with broad, rounded wings and floppy, slow, undulating flight. Colour variable, grey-brown with much variation; generally, they are unstreaked above except for vague mottling on mantle in some; underparts buffish or greyish white, unmarked in some, but diffusely streaked breast in others; rufous tinge to rump, flight-feathers and underwings in many. Longish, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Small pale lark with well streaked upperparts, buffish white generally unstreaked underparts with variable black patch at sides of throat (adult); relatively stout pale bill, long tertials almost covering wing-tip (unless worn) and boldly patterned median coverts; also prominent buffish white supercilium, pale lores, dark eye-streak and small pale area on cheeks are further features. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Resembles Greater Short-toed Lark though slightly smaller, with shorter, more stubby bill, more distinctly streaked breast, no black patches at sides of throat, shorter tertials with wing-tip clearly exposed beyond (beware of Short-toed with worn tertials) and typical flight-call different. Upperparts generally sandy grey, pale buff or rufous-brown, crown usually not tinged rufous; supercilium generally […]

Kingdom : Insects, Mantis

Insect follows Mantidae family, and Mantodea order. It is dusty and legs are brown spotted. Size is about 35 mm. Wings are short, with the same colours of rocks and sands where they live. It is a predator to other insects especially grasshopper and worms.

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Smallest falcon in the region; has short pointed wings and relatively long tail, speedy flight with fast wing-beats, interspersed with short quick glides. Male told by blue-grey upperparts with blackish primaries, broad black tail-band and ill-defined head pattern. Female and juvenile are brownish above, creamy below with dark streaks, diffuse moustache, barred primaries above and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

Easily told by long, narrow wings, distinctly angled when gliding, white under-surface with black carpals and band through centre of underwing, white crown and dark eye-mask. Variable dusky band across fore-neck (usually boldest in female). Juvenile has whitish scales and white line on greater coverts above. Flies with very steady shallow wing-beats, glides on smoothly […]

Kingdom : Birds, Ostrich

Huge, flightless bird with long bare legs and neck. Male has blackish plumage with white wings and tail. (can be chestnut) Females and immature birds grey brown. 60 – 80kg. Introduced into Qatar.

Kingdom : Beetles, Darkling beetles, Insects

Insect follows Tenebrionidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is between 10-12 mm, and has silver colour.

Kingdom : Beetles, Darkling beetles, Insects

Insect follows Tenebrionidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is between 17-20 mm, and has black colour.

Kingdom : Birds, Pratincole

Structure and behaviour as Collared (which see); difficult to distinguish between the two. Adult slightly darker above than Collared, with no contrast between flight-feathers and coverts, lacks white trailing edge to secondaries, and underwing-coverts are jet black (but reddish brown in Collared can be hard to see, often appearing dark), tail fork shallower; when perched […]

Kingdom : Birds, Pratincole

Distinctive, highly aerial wader, resembling terns in graceful fast flight, long pointed wings, deeply forked tail and short bill. Usually in loose flocks chasing winged insects. On ground, plover-like with quick tripping actions on rather short legs, often with upright stance, head held high. Adult has creamy buff throat bordered black; tail and wing-tips are […]

Kingdom : Birds, Redstart

Males of ‘European’ winter visitors are of the blackish grey race with white wing panel; Near Eastern semirufus is black above and on throat to lower breast, sharply defined from deep red below; NE Iranian phoenicuroides is less black above and black below extends only to mid-breast; male ochruros (Turkey to N Iran) variable; some […]

Kingdom : Birds, Redstart

Typical redstart which bobs body and shivers tail (like Black Redstart). Male’s black cheeks and throat, contrasting sharply with rusty red underparts, grey crown with pronounced white forehead characteristic; upperparts grey-brown. Male samamisicus (breeds Turkey eastwards) has white wing-panel and, often, darker upperparts; (note that all races of male Black are more or less black-breasted); […]

Kingdom : Birds, Redstart

Size of Common Redstart. Brightly coloured male told from other redstarts by broad longitudinal white patch on wing-coverts (including primary-coverts), rusty red mantle and most of underparts, including throat; crown to hindneck whitish grey, black sides of head extends to shoulder. In winter both adult and 1st winter male (which has also white in wing) […]

Kingdom : Birds, Finches and Sparrows

Unstreaked grey-brown with a broad white streak where secondaries meet the tertials. It has a long primary projection, short dark tail with a white tip( seen in flight), strong pale bill, translucent looking brownish orange legs, sandy white underparts, 2 whitish wing-bars and a prominent dark eye in a pale face. In flight the long […]

Kingdom : Birds, Grouse

Elegant and dark especially in flight with diagnostic all-dark underwing continuous with dark chestnut belly, merging into paler breast and buffish yellow head in male. Female shows black-spotted breast above the black bar; male has golden wings with some dark barring, female narrowly vermiculated blackish upperparts, and yellowish buff head; both sexes show elongated tail […]

Kingdom : Beetles, Ground beetles, Insects

Beetle follows Carabidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is 36 mm, black, and with big thorax. Front legs are raptorial for digging. It is nocturnal, hides at daytimes in sand. It is distinguished with parallel lines on upper body surface.

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Medium-sized with earth-grey upperparts streaked dark, and warm brown edges to tertials and coverts in fresh plumage; underparts buffish white heavily streaked/spotted on breast; can show a small crest (much smaller than in Crested and not spiky); rather indistinct head marks. Juvenile has upperparts spotted dark with scaly ochre markings. In flight, shows distinct whitish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Snipe

Medium-sized, dark brown wader with distinctly yellow-striped head and upperparts, dark-striped breast, barred flanks and very long bill, with which it probes in mud with vibrating movements. Often squats in low, swampy vegetation, and usually not seen until flushed at 10–15 m distance (at only about 1 m in Jack Snipe); rises explosively, immediately uttering […]

Kingdom : Birds, Snipe

Smallest snipe in region. Very hard to see on ground being superbly camouflaged and extremely difficult to flush; often rises silently at about 1 m distance, in low, slightly jerking flight, which is less powerful than Common Snipe’s and reminiscent of a small crake; settles almost immediately; short bill, blackish brown upperparts with two broad […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Small stocky lark with stout, deep-based, pale blue-grey bill with curved culmen. Male unmistakable with bold black and white head pattern, black underparts and underwing-coverts. Female has unstreaked pale sandy grey upperparts, faintly streaked crown, pale face and hindneck, pale buff underparts, faintly streaked across upper breast; blackish underwing-coverts always separate it from other small […]

Kingdom : Birds, Hawk

Female much larger than male, approaching male Goshawk, but wing-beats faster and lighter; rear-body thinner; wing-tips blunter; tail thinner, longer and more square-cut and head protrudes less. Series of quick wing-beats interspersed with short descending glides (stronger, straighter glides in Goshawk). Adult dark ash-grey above, barred rufous or brown below (rufous most in male); dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Hawk

Similar to Eursian Sparrowhawk in plumage, but longer, narrower, less curved wings have more pointed tip, giving falcon-like appearance when gliding (separating also from blunt-winged Sparrowhawk). Male dull blue-grey above with blackish wing-tip and plain central tail-feathers; female browner, less contrasting and closed uppertail has dark band near tip. From below, male has white underwing […]

Kingdom : Birds, Chat

Small, short-tailed, rounded head perching semi upright; flicks tail quite often. Jet black male unmistakable with white belly, rump and narrow shoulder patch; white patterns above easily seen in low jerky flight. Female has unstreaked sooty earth-brown upperparts and breast, creamy belly and rufous-orange rump; some are rusty brown on breast and have slight supercilium.

Kingdom : Birds, Stonechat

It is similar in appearance to the European Stonechat. The male neck is more whitish and underparts less grayish compared to the European species. Generally, unstreaked orange to white rump, black tail is paler. Longer primary projection much whiter in sides of tail base.

Kingdom : Birds, Vulture

A small vulture, the size of an Eagle. Adult has white wedge shaped tail, white underparts with black flight feathers, small pointed head and thin bill. Colour pattern similar to pale phase Booted Eagle or White Stork but shape quite different. Juvenile is mid brown below, ruff blackish, dark brown above with creamy bars on […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Easily told in flight from other similar-sized wheatears by almost wholly black tail (no large white patches at sides); otherwise male recalls black-throated form of Black-eared but black throat narrowly joined with narrower black wing area (shoulders not black as in male Black-eared); rump tinged buff. Sandy brown or grey-buff female often lacks black throat; […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Behaviour and build much as Pied. Male of black-throated form can be confused with male Finsch’s; white-throated male only confusable with some ‘vittata’ forms of Pied. Black of throat/ear-coverts not joined with black of wings and shoulder; mantle whitish (summer) or buffish grey (autumn). Tail pattern as Pied. See Pied for separation between 1st autumn […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

When perched resembles stocky version of male Pied or male Eastern Pied (capistrata race). Readily identified from both in flight by prominent whitish panel in open wing; compared with Pied the black ‘bib’ is smaller, underparts white (tinged buff in Pied) and undertail-coverts rufous-buff; also primary coverts narrowly tipped white and black band near tip […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Heavier and stockier than Pied and Black-eared; male told from former by narrow buff-white stripe down mantle and back to join white rump; told from latter by larger black ‘bib’ broadly connected with black wings (beware of Black-eared with head sunk between shoulders); told from both also by terminal tail-band of even width (no black […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Large, slender, long-tailed and long-winged wheatear with long bill and buoyant, almost butterfly-like flight, recalling Spotted Flycatcher when catching prey, sometimes in long sallies. Distinctive male with black extending to centre of breast and, except for black central tail-feathers, nearly all-white tail with just black corners, provides easy identification. Autumn and juvenile male has whitish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Closely resembles the picata race of Eastern Pied, but is larger, with ‘bull-headed’ appearance and more upright stance. Black parts more glossy; black throat has slight side-extension and is thus less ‘bib-shaped than Eastern Pied; also white on back extends farther up between wings, where border to black mantle is rounded (square-cut in Eastern Pied); […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Resembles large female Northern Wheatear but, generally, more robust in build, with longer legs and bill, slightly shorter tail and more upright stance; best separated by isolated black alula in paler, more uniform sandy wings, contrasting less with upperparts (has broader pale feather-edges to wings than Northern Wheatear; note that some first autumn Northern can […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Male has a grey crown with a distinctive white supercilium. Ear coverts, throat and shoulder are black. Mantle is grey , underparts whitish with a rusty orange vent.. Female lacks black throat as in male. Tips of tail feathers are black with two white lines, and are a red broad colour extending towards birds’ body. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Relatively short-tailed wheatear with white rump and sides of tail; blackish terminal tail-band of even width. Male told by combination of ash-grey crown and back, white supercilium, thin black eye-stripe and black ear-coverts and wings. See Isabelline for separation from female/1st winter Northern Wheatear. Female Northern Wheatear is greyer brown than similar Black-eared/Pied; 1st autumn […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Slender, relatively long-tailed wheatear, often perching on bushes. told from Mourning by absence of white panel in open wing. Autumn male has black back and ‘bib’ fringed buffish, dark crown with buff-white supercilium, and buff underparts. Female sometimes like female Black-eared (of eastern race melanoleuca) but upperparts usually duller, cooler brown-grey; some show large dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Slender, medium-sized wheatear. Male of race xanthoprymna (E Turkey, NW Iran) has black throat, sides of head and neck merging with blackish brown leading wing-coverts, rufous rump but white sides to tail; black band at tip of tail narrow (larger male Red-rumped almost black-tailed); little white in wings. Female usually lacks black throat but rump […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Three races occur; much individual variation among females. picaia: (breeds Iran) resembles Hume’s but black crown, upperparts and ‘bib’ almost without gloss; rest of underparts white, undertail-coverts sometimes buff in autumn. Female above usually brown where male black, ‘bib’ often rufous-brown but throat sometimes black; rest of underparts creamy buff to white. See Hume’s for […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Large, glossy black wheatear with black underparts down to legs, and, in many adults, white crown; immature and some adults have black crown, resembling smaller Eastern Pied (opistholeuca race) but size, longer bill and white sides of tail with black corners diagnostic (no black terminal-band). Some black-crowned birds show a few white feather-tips, these birds […]

Kingdom : Birds, Chat

Small, short-tailed chat with less upright stance, slightly smaller head and longer primary projection than Stonechat. Told from Stonechat by combination of streaked brownish rump and white sides to base of tail; male also has bold, clear-cut white supercilium and white stripe between blackish sides of head and orangey throat; female duller with paler throat […]